Black. Block letters appear on the screen:
Soldier
1996 - Year Zero
Cut to:
INT. Hospital.
Dozens of cribs are lined up with babies in them. Soldiers
walk through and assign numbers an letters to the various
infants. A soldier with an automatic rifle stands guard.
Cut to:
INT. "Training Hall"
Block letters read:
Adam Project
Year Five
The infants chosen in the previous scene are now lined up in
military uniforms in bleachers. They look on as three
vicious dogs are forced to attack an equally vicious wild
boar.
Friendly woman's voice O.S.
"A soldier does not speak unless spoken to, by a superior
officer"
"A soldier shows no mercy. Mercy is weakness, and weakness is
death."
Voice is blotted out by the sounds of dogs snarling and the
boar howling.
Friendly woman's voice O.S.
"The forces are his family"
"He is most happy, when following orders"
Focus on boy's name badge. It reads:
TODD
Friendly woman's voice O.S.
"A soldier loves to kill"
The dogs and boar are released into a small glass cage where
the boys look on as the boar is ripped apart by the dogs.
Cut to:
INT. "School"
The boys are now sitting in a classroom in rows, doing
exercises designed to test aptitude and dexterity.
Block letters read:
Year Eight
Once again we see Todd, and he is moving quickly through his
assigned test. Focus on a notepad where a soldier makes
notations about Todd. we see he is Right Handed, Age 8, and
his Dexterity is Excellent.
Cut to:
EXT. Day
Block letters read:
Year Twelve
The boys are running a long course, with Todd in the lead
holding the flag. One scrawny kid lags behind, and for his
troubles a Hum-vee pulls up, a soldier gets out and shoots
him.
Cut to:
INT. "Shooting Range"
Block letters read:
Year Sixteen
Todd and the others are in the prone position with heavy
assault rifles, and life sized dummy targets are rolling back
and forth down the range. Some are enemy soldiers, some are
civilians. At one point an enemy target stops and a civilian
woman holding a baby stops in front of it. Todd cuts her to
shreds while the others hesitate, and then blows the enemy
holding a grenade apart as well.
Cut to:
INT. Barracks
Block letters read:
2013 - Year Seventeen
End of Training
The boys, now young men are sitting in rows getting the
identifying mark of the Soldier, a tattoo of their name, rank
and unit on their left cheek. We focus on Todd 0-POS 3465
As the camera pans around Todd's face, we Cut to:
Black screen, block letters read:
Year Thirty-Eight
We fade into the camera resuming it's pan around Todd's face,
only now he is a much older man. Battle scars mark his face,
and he betrays no emotion as we Cut to:
INT. War Zone
Block Letters read:
War Of The Six Cities
Todd and company walk through a fiery combat zone, plugging
away at the enemy who drop like flies under their heavy
machine gun fire. One of Todd's men catches a grenade in his
chest as he comes through the door.
Cut To:
EXT. Day. Winter
Block letters read:
Moscow Incident
Without losing a step we've gone from the prior scene to
outside, and Todd and company march ever forward, blasting
away the bad guys. And then an enemy soldier grabs a
civilian woman and uses her as a shield. Todd, without so
much as a hesitation, blasts through her and into him, just
like he was trained to do.
We Cut to:
EXT. Moonscape
Block letters read:
2036 - Year Forty
The Battle Of The Argentine Moons
Again, in step we go from the prior scene to here, where Todd
and company are now decked out in spacesuits, marching forward
through enemy fire. The man in the rear position gets a few
slugs through his suit and suddenly decompresses. Todd
quickly reacts with a deadly barrage of bullets, cutting the
enemy to pieces.
And we Cut to:
INT. Computer Screen.
Graphic display rattles off Todd's Battle History and stats
like Confirmed Kills, Unconfirmed Kills, etc.
Cut to:
INT. Barracks
Block letters read:
Present Status: Between Wars
We focus on Todd's unmoving face as he sits on the edge of his
bed. Then the camera moves to the right and we see dozens of
soldiers sitting likewise behind him, all in the exact same
position, all statuesque.
Cut to:
INT. Barracks Observation Deck.
Captain Church and Rubrick are upstairs.
Rubrick
Sir? Colonel Mekum has his new batch unpacked, I think he
wants to show them off.
Cut to:
INT. Barracks.
The "old" soldiers and the "new" soldiers are lined up facing
each other in the barracks garage. In comes Colonel Mekum
looking a bit small compared to the Infantry Troops.
Sloan
Well...they're pretty.
Capt. Church
What do you find so hot about 'em??
Col. Mekum
They're very much improved, Captain
Rubrick
This is Colonel Mekum from HQ, he's our commanding officer
Capt. Church
Sir!
They exchange a quick salute.
Capt. Church
Improved... How?
Col. Mekum
In every way possible. You see your old ones here they're
selected at birth, but my new ones, we're talking
recombinations. They're practically manufactured using DNA
profiles. And, some manipulation. More endurance, quicker
responses, better hand-eye. Improved technical training. It's
a whole different standard.
Capt. Church
My daddy was in maintenance, and he had a saying. He used to
say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
Col. Mekum
Maintenance...
A beat
I'm afraid I don't get your point...
Capt. Church
The veterans you see standing before you here, have been
through all kinds of heavy shit, and they've always got the job
done. Now your new soldiers, these hotshots, how much action
have they seen? And are they battle tested?
Col. Mekum
How about a few tests, just to get you on board. Make you a
believer.
Cut to:
INT. Shooting Range
One of the new soldiers has an assault rifle and is shooting
at a target. For every slug that hits it's mark a digital
counter clicks off.
Rubrick, looking on:
99 percent... that's very good
Cut to:
INT. Training Hall
The new soldiers are lifting weights, kicking dummies, looking
generally mean and showing off.
Col. Mekum
Seen enough, Captain?
Capt. Church
What about endurance?
Cut to:
EXT. Running Course
Todd is running the course at a pretty good pace, sweating but
obviously not fatigued.
Cut to:
INT. Barracks
Col. Mekum
Caine 607, forward
Caine
Sir!
Col. Mekum
15 miles, 607, on the run. You've got 60 minutes. Go!
Caine runs off into the night
Col. Mekum
My man left exactly 20 minutes after yours, make a note of
that.
Cut to:
EXT. Running Course
Todd, still running the course at a good pace. Though behind
him we see Caine catching up, obviously moving a lot faster and
not the least bit tired. He catches up and then races ahead
of Todd.
Cut to:
INT. Barracks
Col. Mekum
Of course age is a factor, but the real factor is the training
program. Especially the psychological. The mind controls the
body, after all. And we're doing such wonderful things with
the mind.
Todd comes running up and stands next to Caine. He snaps a
quick salute.
Todd
Sir!
Rubrick
At ease, Soldier.
Capt. Church
What is the price of all that speed? Is your soldier tired?
Col. Mekum
Tired?
Capt. Church
Todd ran the pace he's been taught to run, and he's still
strong.
Turns to Ruckrick.
Capt. Church
Send him up the chain, Rube
Rubrick
Soldier, up the chain!
Todd
Sir!
Todd snaps a quick salute and scrambles up a fifty foot chain
with circular platforms every fifteen feet or so. He gets
about halfway up.
Col. Mekum
607, on the double, up the chain.
Caine
Sir!
Caine runs up and grabs a chain and starts hoisting himself
up. By the time Todd reaches the top Caine is already there.
Capt. Church
What about spirit?
Col. Mekum
I believe you mean AQ/Captive-Aggressive qualities? Much
higher, much better.
Capt. Church
What if they fought?
Col. Mekum
You mean up there?
Capt. Church
Go ahead Rube, tell Todd to take him
Col. Mekum
No!
Capt. Church
No?
Col. Mekum
Not fair, no contest. Send two more of your old ones up.
Captain Church gestures to Rubrick
Rubrick
Romero, Goines, up the chain!
Romero and Goines run over and scramble up the chain. Todd
reaches over and grabs another chain so he is standing on two.
When the other soldiers get to the top they do likewise, and
circle Caine.
Rubrick
Get him men!
Caine backfists Todd who comes after him first, and knocks him
back onto his chain, a few feet down. He spins a delivers a
boot to the face of the first Soldier and then spins again,
narrowly missing a jab from the second. With a couple of
moves Caine tears loose his grip and with a punch sends him
flying. By now Todd has climbed back up but Caine gives him a
good kick to the back and Todd goes sailing again, nearly
loosing his purchase. Caine dodges a drop kick by one soldier
and spins with his own kick to the face of the first soldier,
who looses his grip and falls from the chain. He drops fifty
feet to the concrete below and smacks with a dull thud, and
lies still, dead.
Caine once again repels Todd who has gotten back up in place
with a kick to the face, and Todd goes sliding down the chain.
The second soldier jumps on Caine from behind and starts to
pummel him with an elbow. Caine takes the blows seemingly
without notice and gives the soldier a downward slap to the
groin, followed by a backfist to the nose. He falls to
another chain and with a couple of kicks Caine batters him
badly. It's too much for him, and he drops. On the way down,
screaming like a little girl, his foot catches a circular
platform and his body is nearly ripped in two. Ouch!
Now Todd has climbed higher than Caine and drops on him from
behind, putting him in a semi sleeper hold. Reacting, Caine
bites his forearm hard. But not to be daunted, Todd hangs on
and reaches around his head, and with a face rake plucks out
Caine's right eye. Caine screams madly and elbows Todd in the
ribs, and he slides down to his hips. He gives Caine a couple
of good whacks the groin, but Caine counters with three fast
elbows to his face, and Todd falls. He hits the first soldier
with a thud and it's lights out. One of the old soldiers
glances over at him worried, but retains his cool.
A beat.
Col. Mekum
Get down here! Get down here! Get your ass down here on the
double! Down the wall, down down down!!
Caine scrambles down the chains.
Caine
Sir!
Col. Mekum
Look at you!
We cut to Caine's face. It's a bloody mess.
Col. Mekum
Do you know how much it costs to breed you, you big moron? To
train you. To feed you!
Colonel Mekum turns and walks the line of soldiers.
Col. Mekum
What good is this man now? He's got no depth perception! All
he can do is walk point, and take the first hit!
Sloan
What about the bodies? (Meaning Todd and the others)
Col. Mekum
Waste Disposal!
Col. Mekum returns to Caine
Col. Mekum
Fall in.
Caine
Sir!
Capt. Church
Todd was our best man
Col. Mekum
You still don't get it do you, Captain?
He draws a silver .45 revolver and puts a slug through the
forehead of an already very dead soldier who is still hanging
on one of the chains by his foot.
Col. Mekum
You men are obsolete!
A beat.
Col. Mekum
You'll write this up as a training accident, and we'll make
sure these bodies are dumped a long way from here. We don't
want any unnecessary questions.
We focus on Todd's staring, open eye and fade to black.
Cut to:
EXT. Space
A cargo ship slowly comes across the screen and approaches a
planet.
Block letters read:
P376 Waste Disposal Ship
Cut to:
INT. Ship's Cargo Bay
Todd is laying in a heap of garbage and a couple of dead
soldiers. He comes to and sits up. As he looks around a
kelghorn and a flashing warning light come on as the ship
prepares to dump it's garbage. Todd tries to hang on as the
bomb doors open up but it's no use He drops out with the rest
of the unbiodegradeable waste and falls onto the trash heap as
we;
Cut to:
EXT. Day
There are waste piles a thousand feet high.
Block letters read:
Arcadia 234 Waste Disposal Planet
Todd is now standing on the top of this mountain of trash as
he watches the cargo ship close up it's bomb doors and fly
off. He looks more than a little bit dejected, and quite
battered. He looks down and sees some figures on the ground
below, so he sets off to follow them.
Todd climbs off the trash mountain and looks around. What a
dump. He hears a strange whistling sound and sees a giant
wind storm bearing straight down on him. In the nick of time
he manages to grab a railing and hang on as the 100+ mile and
hour winds batter him even more than he already is. As
quickly as it started, the wind storm lets up. Todd continues
searching for the figures.
Cut to:
EXT. Waste Disposal Planet
Todd is following a narrow foot path through what is obviously
a man made cemetery. Hunks of iron are welded together to
form crude crosses, which dot the area here and there. We
follow Todd as he pulls himself along a railing, and into a
compound made up of junked aircraft bodies, scrap sheet metal
and almost every other kind of industrial wreckage you can
imagine. The whole scene gives you the sense of a refugee
camp.
Cut to:
INT. Camp. Day.
Todd sees the figures closely now, and follows them through
the camp at a distance. He climbs atop an overhanging cliff to
get a better view. Two men come through a set of heavy iron
doors as Todd ducks down to get out of sight. Just then
another heavy windstorm whips up and knocks Todd from his
perch directly into the compound below. He lands hard on a
set of stone stairs. As he regains some composure, a few
figures have come up to him, curious. Todd manages to life
his head a bit and see they are children. Now he's seen
everything. Todd's head drops back down into the sand and once
again it's lights out.
Cut to:
INT. Camp. Night.
Someone is ringing the alarm bell and figures are running to
and fro, carrying crude torches made of what else, scrap
metal. We follow a couple of children through some heavy iron
doors and we see there is a meeting of the refugees in the
main hall. Confused hub-bub ensues among the villagers.
Someone:
Hawkins, Hawkins... give us something, anything!
Hawkins
Quiet! Please, Quiet!
Slade
How many of them are there?
Hawkins
There is one man. Unarmed.
Black Woman
How could there only be one? How could he get here??
Mace
Well, he was unconscious when we found him. We didn't ask him
anything.
Someone
Hang on, Jimmy is back!
Jimmy Pig
There's nothing out there. I couldn't see nobody. Couldn't
see no vehicles, no ship, nothing. Plus, the wind is up again
real strong.
Hawkins
Everybody calm down! We have an injured man among us. We all
want to do the decent thing, the decent this is to help him.
Sandra, Mace's wife, is looking after him now. Now I'd like a
vote of support from all of you.
Slade
Well you keep an eye on him Mace, you watch him!
Cut to:
INT. Mace and Sandra's Bedroom.
Todd is sprawled out on the bed, covered by some red sheets.
Sandra, wearing her best "come hither" refugee rags comes in
holding a little jar of some unidentifiable liquid. She reads
some letters that have been tattooed on Todd's arm. All the
campaigns and wars he's been in up to date. Though Todd is
thoroughly zonked out, he can't resist coming to when this
fine piece of tail hovers above him. Sandra tries to spoon
feed him some brown stuff but like a little baby Todd shakes
his head and refuses to open the hangar door. Insistent,
Sandra puts the spoon to his lips and he guzzles it down in
true soldier fashion. Ahh, refreshing.
Cut to:
INT. Mace and Sandra's Place. Living Room, which is quite
palatial for a refugee camp.
Sandra
There are words on his shoulder (points to shoulder as if Mace
doesn't know where that might be). Tannhauser Gate. Argentine
Sector. Shanghai 2012.
Mace
Sandra, the Tannhauser Gate was a battle. He's a soldier.
Cut to:
INT. Mace and Sandra's place. Bedroom.
Little Nathan, Mace's son, comes wandering in and Todd and he
share a little glance. Neither of them say jack-squat
throughout the movie, making them the perfect match.
Cut to:
INT. Living Room
Mace
It's Nathan...
A beat.
Mace
Nathan...
Nathan hears Mace calling and wanders off. Todd watches him
go and once again it's lights out.
Fade to Black.
Cut to:
INT. Mace and Sandra's Place. Bedroom
Todd comes to with a start. He hears some voices and loud
noises coming from the other room. What on earth could that
be?
Cut to:
INT. Mace and Sandra's Place. Living Room.
Mace, Sandra and Nathan are rolling around on the floor
playing.
Mace
It's a tiger! (Blows a raspberry on Nathan's tummy) Grrrr!
Arrrrghh!
Todd comes walking in and sidles up to the door frame,
watching the others play. They stop, conscious now of the
noise they were making, and look up. Todd is a menacing sight
even in his bruised state.
Mace
We're uh, sorry if we woke you. Just playing... just playing
with the boy.
Todd, his usual chatty self, stares back silently, not sure
what to make of these weirdo’s.
Mace
I made something for you.
He reaches behind him and grabs a metal pole with a little
handle on the end. Todd immediately suspects the worse, that
Mace is about to try and brain him with the nasty looking
device.
Mace
It's... it's to help you walk, you see (mimics a limp and
demonstrates the thing as a crutch) Isn't it? Like this...
Todd just stares.
We cut to:
EXT. Surface of the Planet. In the garbage dump.
Cut to:
INT. Mess Hall.
Everyone is gathered around eating. Todd is wolfing down his
chow like an animal, getting some glances from the others who
have never seen a soldier chow down before. Mace scrapes
what's left of his portion onto Todd's plate, drawing more
glances. Slade gets up and walks over.
Slade
I don't see how you could not remember how you got here,
Sergeant! You're not a deserter, are you Sergeant?
Todd stands up quick, at attention.
Todd
No sir
Slade
Then how come you're not with your unit?
Jimmy
Oh come Slade would you let the man eat?
Slade
It's not an unreasonable question!
Apparently it isn't , as everyone hushes up and looks at Todd,
including Mace.
Slade
How about it Sergeant?
Todd
I was... replaced.
Mace
Replaced?
Todd
By a better soldier, sir.
Cut to:
INT. Mace and Sandra's Place. Bedroom.
Sandra is hanging up some sheets, with Todd looking on. Mace
is nowhere to be found, obviously off doing some important
refugee work while this psychotic soldier stays at home and
ogles his wife.
Sandra
When we left Earth twelve years ago, we certainly never
thought we'd end up here. When we crashed, a lot of people
died. A few years later when dumpers starting coming over and
dumping stuff, we tried to get their attention with fires, and
explosions. They must be unmanned, or maybe they just don't
care. So we had to forget about a better life on the Trinity
Moons. One good thing though, nobody bothers us. Who would
want to fight for a god-forsaken place like this?
Todd, not quite interested in a history lesson, catches a wee
look-see at Sandra's (braless) bosom. Yummy. Sandra sees what
he's up to but after forty years of battle Todd is not quite
as suave as some his age might be, and just keeps staring.
She gets a little nervous... and a little, excited, perhaps?
Slut!
Sandra
But...I, I guess you like the fighting. You must, your... a
soldier.
Todd, becoming quite the fountain of conversation, says
nothing and just stares.
Cut to:
INT. Spaceship. Map Room.
Col. Mekum
The biannual security sweep. We'll be patrolling the Arcadia
system. We're going to set up unmanned monitoring stations
here, here here... here. (Pointing to spots on a map) Now,
we'll send the new soldiers out on patrol... routine stuff as
you say Captain. But, good experience, and I'll have a chance
to see them in a non-training environment.
Capt. Church
You're coming?
Col. Mekum
Yes, Captain. I want to observe these men at close hand.
Capt. Church
Well what about opposition?
Col. Mekum
Well it's all deserted, we're just confirming that.
Capt. Church
But say we do encounter activity. Miners, refugees of some
sort.
Col. Mekum
Well we won't. But if we do then they'll be officially
classifiable as hostiles.
Capt. Church
Just by being there...
Col. Mekum
We don't want paperwork, Captain, and we certainly don't want
passengers. Understood?
Cut to:
EXT. Arcadia 234. Surface. Day
The villagers are out farming what little land is productive,
underneath a protective bio-dome. Sporadic vegetation grows
here and there. Todd and Sandra work together planting little
tubers of some sort. as Sandra demonstrates the trade, she
spies a slithering green snake, and whacks it's head off with
a hatchet.
Sandra
You have to watch out for those. They probably wouldn't kill
someone your size, but someone smaller... like me or... or
Nathan. He was bitten once, and he almost died. He was sick
for a long time. That's why he can't speak. Here... you try
one (handing Todd a tuber) Here...
Todd looks at this little green thing dubiously. What is it,
a weapon of some sort? He grabs it and sticks it in the
ground like Sandra had shown him. With a fumble he manages to
bury the thing half up to it's leaves. Sandra look up at him
with a big grin.
Cut to:
EXT. Day. Garbage Heap.
Mace
Everything we own Sergeant, everything in the entire village we
have to salvage around here.
He hooks a chain around Jimmy Pig's waist, and pats his
shoulder.
Mace
You're all set Jimmy.
Jimmy
Back in a minute!
Mace
So whatever looks useful, if we can get a chain to it, we're
going to go for it. Now you hear that? (Referring to the
howling wind) That means she's really close! Jimmy, she's
gonna blow!
Jimmy
On my way!
Mace
Look alive Sergeant!
On the way back, Jimmy manages to get his coat stuck on a
piece of metal, and it takes a moment for him to untangle
himself.
Mace
Come on Jimmy! Jimmy come on. Jimmy!
The wind is really picking up now, and in the background we
see an old farming combine that begins to spin with the force
of the wind, like a weathervane. Jimmy has no footing and the
wind is starting to push him to his knees as he tries to make
it back to the rail.
Mace
Hurry up, let's go!
Jimmy falls, and the wind really begins to roar. Mace jumps
across the rail and reaches out for him, but the chain that
anchors him to the rail is too short, and he can't reach.
Mace
Jimmy, give me your hand!
Jimmy
Too strong!
Mace
Please Jimmy...
The wind is pounding everyone now, and the combine is spinning
a hundred miles and hour like a great big veg-o-matic. Jimmy
begins to get lifted into the air and sucked towards the
combine. He manages to catch a thin line thrown to him but
the force of the wind is taking him back. Three of the
villagers try to haul him in like a fish but they're fighting
against a maelstrom. It's too strong, and Jimmy draws ever
closer to the spinning blades. Todd steps in at the nick of
time and grabs the line, hauling Jimmy back. He's got ten
times the might that three of the villager's have and it's no
big deal to him. With Jimmy safely secured, the winds let up
and the combine blades slowly come to a stop.
Jimmy
Oh God...
Someone
You were almost bacon on that one Jimmy!
Todd has already forgotten the situation and has spied a rifle
hanging from a piece of equipment. The ever vigilant warrior
walks up and grabs the rifle, checking it thoroughly. The
villagers see this and become uneasy. Mace goes to him trying
to get a handle on the situation.
Mace
Thank you (grabs for the rifle, but Todd doesn't give it up)
A beat
They both look up and see a cargo ship looming on the horizon,
dumping trash on top of already enormous mountains of trash.
Mace
They're dumpers... they come every 20 or 30 days. Sergeant the
gun... please?
Todd, obeying orders, hands the rifle over to Mace, and the
villagers relax and let out some hushed cheers.
Jimmy
Whoo! Thanks partner!
Todd stares back impassively, as if nothing has happened at
all.
Jimmy
Well, uh... (thrown a bit) those other no-goods would have let
me blow away!
Cut to:
Scene of dumpers dumping piles of trash on the planet.
Scene of villagers hobbling back to the compound after a hard
day's work, Mace leading the way.
Flashback of Todd looking at Sandra in the garden.
Scene of Mace smiling and looking jovial.
Scene of Todd watching the villagers scamper along the planet,
through the trash dump, playing the part of refugees very
well.
Scene of Todd and Sandra in the kitchen.
Scene of Mace kissing Sandra.
Scene of Todd looking at Sandra as a beautiful woman.
Scene of Sandra washing clot hers, her blouse open nearly
revealing her left breast.
Scene of Mace wearing a look of concern and pride.
Cut to:
INT. Mace and Sandra's place. Kitchen.
Todd is chopping carrots, Nathan is playing with a toy off in
the corner. Sandra is just sort of generally doting around.
Oh, what a peaceful looking family. Todd watches Sandra go
and play with Nathan, and as he is distracted he managed to
hack into his finger with the knife. He glances down and sees
the blood, but thinks nothing of it, and continues slicing
away, getting blood all over the carrots. Yum.
Sandra gets up and goes to see about Todd's wound. She tries
to help him by wrapping it with a towel but suddenly Todd
regresses to the emotional level of, oh say, a toddler, and
pulls away. With genuine concern, she manages to wrap the
finger up anyway. Oh, he' such a big softie.
Sandra
Sergeant Todd...what's it like? What's it like being a
soldier? What do you think about?
Todd, again the wellspring of talkativeness, just grunts.
Sandra
You must think about something.
Just an inaudible grunt. Nobody has ever asked him a question
before, and he's not sure how to respond with something other
than Yes sir, No sir.
Sandra
What about feelings then. You must feel something....?
It's like talking to a brick wall. If Todd feels something he
sure as heck isn't letting on. She gives up. As she is
turning to go, suddenly the impossible happens. Todd joins the
conversation.
Todd
Fear.
Sandra
Fear?
Todd
Fear, and discipline.
Sandra mulls this over for a moment.
Sandra
Now?
Todd
Always!
Sandra
Oh my god...
Moved by this gusher of language skills, Sandra goes to hug
Todd. Todd, having never been in situation with a woman where
he had to do more than kill her, gets weak kneed and begins to
shake like a leaf. Sandra backs away, unnerved.
Cut to:
INT. Compound. Night.
The villagers are sitting around dancing and being merry, on
what appears to be a Christmas celebration. Jimmy Pig is
dressed up like Santa and Sgt. Todd is sitting in the middle
of the dance floor with a plate of sandwiches in his lap. He
looks longingly at Mace, Sandra, and Nathan, and Mace and
Sandra look back with one part pity, one part friendship.
Todd however, decides that now is a good time to start
regressing back to the level of a three year old and gets
spooked by the flailing bodies and loud noises. He flashes
back to some scenes of his youth, and he's gone like a flash.
We see him in the next scene peering down through the sky
lights at the party, unable to join.
Cut to:
Todd sitting alone in the night, cross legged and in silent
meditation. This is more his speed.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound. Day.
Jimmy
I was going to give this scarf to him last night, but he just
disappeared.
Sandra
It's beautiful Jimmy, he'll love it.
Jimmy
Well he saved my life out there, I guess Mace told you.
Sandra
You should give it to him yourself. He's in the meeting room.
He's doing exercises.
Cut to:
INT. Day. Meeting Room.
Todd is going at it with a piece of discarded equipment, which
he has hung up by chains and is using like a heavy bag. Every
thunderous whack he delivers echoes in the compound. He's
hitting it over and over, left right combinations that make
your ears ring. The village children are watching him with
awe and fear of this savage giant. Hawkins comes up and sees
what's going on.
Hawkins
Children? You're supposed to be doing your lessons (motions
for them to leave)
Hawkins also turns to go but can't help looking over at her
shoulder as Todd continues to pound away at the heavy piece of
equipment.. If he could do that to a steel drum then imagine
what he could do to one of them. His fists are covered in
cloth but he's striking it so hard that the cloth is being
torn to shreds.
Todd begins to flashback. Every punch he delivers becomes an
explosion in his mind. Enemies come out with assault rifles
and cut the villagers down. Todd returns fire and slays them,
and more explosions ring out. We fade between a battle scene
in his head to Todd hitting the drum, and back and forth.
He's going totally berserk now, losing grips with reality.
Someone comes out of the doorway in the combat zone and rushes
Todd. Or is it in reality? Can't be sure, so better safe
then sorry, Todd grabs the figure and swings him about,
slamming him down on the ground.
Now we cut back to reality, and it's Jimmy Pig lying on the
ground with Todd choking him. He is pinned next to a moving
wheel and any moment he is going to be crushed by it. He
tries to get up but Todd is still lost in the fantasy. Only
at the last second does he come to, and see what's about to
happen. He lifts Jimmy up in the nick of time and throws him
clear. Jimmy just pants on the floor, holding up the scarf he
had meant to give him. The villagers eyeball him nervously.
Todd looks enraged, but also sorry.
Cut to:
INT. Day. Mace and Sandra's Place. Bedroom
Mace and Sandra are laying in bed.
Mace
There's going to be a meeting.
Sandra
He's not fully recovered.
Mace
That's what scares people. He gets stronger every day.
Sandra
Are you scared of him Mace?
Mace
Yes. I've never been afraid of anyone before like this. I
have this feeling he could break me in half with no real
effort, and no real... feeling.
Cut to:
INT. Day. Meeting Hall.
Todd is still plugging away at the metal drum. His hands are
a bloody wreck but he doesn't seem to mind. He just keeps
whacking away at it pathetically. Every punch smatters the
drum with bloody and sweat, and his punches grow weaker and
weaker, after what could only be hours of heavy workout. But
still he persists.
We flashback to Todd as a youth, in the military academy.
He's pummeling another boy with a crazed frenzy. The others
cadets and soldier/scientist types watch on. Even though he's
got the upper hand and has the boy pinned on the ground he keep
raining the punches down until the boy's face is chop meat.
Then he calmly gets up and goes to sit at the table.
Friendly woman's voice O.S.
"He is most happy when following orders"
"A soldier shows no mercy. Mercy is weakness, and weakness is
death"
"A soldier needs no friend or family. War is his friend. The
forces are his family"
Cut to:
INT. Day. Mace and Sandra's Place. Bedroom.
Todd's face as he wakes up from the nightmare. Nathan is at
the foot of the bed, playing with a metal locking toy, which
he slides open, shows Todd, and puts on the bed. Nathan turns
to go, but stops short when he sees a vicious snake in the
hall. Todd throws him a boot and mimes the actions "hit it"
by hitting a boot on the bed. Nathan is frozen, and the snake
lunges. Todd is quicker, and he grabs the snake before it
bites him. Still trying to impart the lesson, he throws the
snake back down again and motions for Nathan to kill it. Mace
walks in and hits the snake with a sharpened pole, killing it.
Mace
Todd, what the hell do you think you're doing?? It could have
killed him!
Cut to:
INT. Day. Meeting Hall.
The villagers are angry at Todd's recent behavior, and now
it's time to kick him out.
Hawkins
No one here has any animosity towards you, Sergeant. None of us
here is your enemy. Furthermore, we respect your qualities. We
have no doubt that you are a very, very good soldier. But
because of your training we don't think you'll ever be able to
function in a group like this. A community of families, of
children. Where the ability to fight is not the sole purpose
of existence. Your different from us, Sergeant. We don't hate
you for that, but we've agreed that to try and include you
would pose an intolerable risk to the community itself.
Mace
We'll give you any tools you need. Some warm clothing, some
boots, a good knife.
A beat.
Mace
Sergeant, you're our friend. It's just...that...
Cut to:
INT. Day. Compound
Todd is geared up to go. The whole village has come to see
him off.
Mace
If you need us, you can ask us for help.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound. Day
Todd is being escorted off by the armed villagers. He turns
once more and then sets off to whatever there may be waiting
for him.
Cut to:
EXT. Day. Somewhere.
Todd is sitting alone in a pipe, a little fire beside him.
He's staring off into space and we focus on his face. He
looks haggard, and a single tear rolls down his cheek. He
touches it and looks puzzled. What is this salty discharge??
Oh god... I care!
Fade to:
EXT. Space. A shot of Arcadia 234 from a distance. A space
ship rolls across the screen.
Voice O.S.
Command we are on course for Arcadia 2-3-4.
Cut to:
INT. Day. Mace and Sandra's Place. Bedroom.
Mace and Sandra lay peacefully in bed, dreaming about their
lives on this garbage heap of a planet, no doubt. The sun
shines through a plate glass sky light, and everything seems
serene. But then a vicious snake come slithering into bed
with them. (Hmm, Freud, you listening?) It's getting ready
to strike Mace right in the face when Nathan comes in and
grabs it, and smashes it to death with a boot, just like he
was trained. The irony of the situation hits them like a ton
of worthless scrap metal and we...
Cut to:
INT. Day. Mace and Sandra's Place.
Sandra
How will you find him?
Mace
He'll stay close to the wire.
Sandra
What do I tell the council? We all voted.
Mace
We voted wrong!
Cut to:
EXT. Day. Cemetery
Mace is running out of the village to look for his good friend
the ruthless soldier.
Cut to:
EXT. Day. Somewhere
Mace is still running around looking for Todd.
He comes over the crest of the hill and sees Todd sitting
there in a stand pipe. Todd looks back at Mace.
Mace
Todd! Todd... We were wrong. We made a mistake. We're sorry.
Just at that point Todd and Mace look up to see the spaceship
we saw earlier lumber into sight. It flies across the screen
blotting out the sun and lands a short distance away. Todd
comes down out of his pipe and joins Mace.
Mace
Some kind of landing party! Hey, over here!
Todd reacts and grabs Mace's arm, which he was waving to get
the ship's attention. Todd knows better than to announce his
position to what is obviously a military landing craft.
Todd
Stay with me, sir.
They go running off, and we cut to a shot of the spaceship.
It's lowering a large platform from it's hull, on it sit two
giant crawler vehicles that we saw earlier in the Barracks
garage. These huge tanks come rolling out and start out
across the surface, with several foot soldiers walking behind.
O.S. Col. Mekum
All units stand by for Arcadia 234 security sweep. Any
trespassers will be considered hostile.
Todd and Mace are running wildly trying to make distance
between them and the tanks.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound
Sandra
Wait, what's going on?
Someone
Somebody is landing, Jimmy Pig spotted a ship.
Todd and Mace are still trying to gain ground, but the tanks
have closed in on them.
Cut to:
INT. Crawler.
Caine 607 sees the figures running and prepares a mortar.
Voice O.S.
Two hostiles at 12 o'clock.
Caine fires a couple more times and Mace conveniently wanders
into crossfire, getting his right leg blown off at the knee.
Ouch, that's got to sting. Todd grabs him and drags him into
the relative safety of the complete out in the openness.
Cut to:
INT. Crawler
Voice O.S.
Hostiles eliminated.
Todd attempts a makeshift field dressing for Mace's damaged
leg, and applies a tourniquet. The tanks lumber off towards
the village.
Mace
It's no good, I've lost too much blood.
A beat.
Mace
Why? It was a mistake.
Todd shakes his head no.
Mace
Oh...oh God no. Not Sandra... please... not Nathan...please.
Mace dies.
Cut to:
INT. Ship
Rubrick
People, they've spotted people! Two civilians, unarmed. They
killed both of them. They spotted smoke from some sort of
camp.
Sloan
Oh Jesus Christ, a camp?
Col. Mekum
Excellent, this will be very good experience for the men.
Let's see how they do.
Capt. Church
If they're civilians they need to be protected.
Col. Mekum
Whoever they are, they don't belong there. Officially they're
hostiles.
Cut to:
EXT. Planet Surface.
Caine O.S.
Three man fire team only. Prepare to deploy.
Cut to:
INT. Compound
Hawkins
Everybody Calm down! Calm down. I'm going to go out and talk
to them. Those of you with weapons prepare to defend us.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound
Hawkins comes outside and gets a look at the crawler, not far
off, motionless.
Cut to:
INT. Crawler
Caine arms a mortar battery.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound
Hawkins stands fast with her arms crossed. One of the turrets
on the crawler swings about.
Hawkins
God help us...
Cut to:
INT. Crawler
Close up of Caine's firing hand. He squeezes the trigger.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound
The mortar catches Hawkins right in the chest and knocks her
clear back into the compound, detonating mid-air in a fiery
blast. The villagers return fire but it's useless. Caine
fires again and another mortar hits the edge of the
embankment, knocking people to and fro, screaming.
Soldier:
Three man fire team in position
Caine O.S.
Crawler to fire team... engage.
Cut to:
INT. Ship.
Rubrick
Reports from Crawler 1, everything under control
Capt. Church
Is there resistance?
Rubrick
Ineffectual. Three men are going in to clean 'em out, Caine
has ordered the rest to hold back.
Capt. Church
Sounds reckless, three against fifty. I can tell these men
have no combat experience. The old ones, the veterans, they
would have called for support. Just in case.
Sloan
Speaking of the old ones, why don't we have Riley and his crew
start putting up the monitoring unit.
Cut to:
INT. Ship
Soldier
Atten-HUT!
Riley
Sir.
Sloan
Riley?
Riley
Will we be issued weapons, sir?
Sloan
No Riley, only soldiers get weapons
Riley
Yes sir
Riley snaps a quick salute.
Sloan
You don't even have to salute anymore Riley...
Riley looks pissed off and ready to tear this little tart a
few new holes.
Cut to:
INT. Compound
Soldiers tear ass through the compound cutting down villagers
left and right with machine gun, with flame thrower, with
grenades. Just generally having a good old time. Just as one
is getting poised to toast a fleeing villager Todd comes
crashing through a sky light and lands on him. With one deft
move he slashes his throat.
Todd is gathering weapons and checking the ammo. He's got a
modified Uzi and some other neat stuff collected from the dead
soldier. Slade walks in with his crappy little rifle.
Slade
You need any help, partner?
Todd turns around and throws Slade a baleful look. It says,
beat it ya little fag.
Slade
okay...
Cut to:
EXT. Ship.
Voice O.S.
Riley, Team deploying monitoring unit.
Rily and team deploy the monitoring unit.
Cut to:
INT. Compound.
Sandra and some others are fleeing a chasing soldier. He's
got him a little flamer thrower and he's chasing the children
around trying to turn them into ashes. Ahh, it's good to be
the king.
Sandra
Quick, up the stairs!
Sandra narrowly avoids getting that cute little ass burned off
as she scrambles up the stairs.
Sandra
Go, go, get inside the bedroom! (As if being in the bedroom
will make them fireproof perhaps)
The soldier comes up the stairs and rounds the corner. He
sees Sandra, he sees some children. Goody, some people to
burn. Then he comes fully into view and it's Todd standing
there with a grenade launcher. He fires it into the soldier
and he's knocked clear out the bedroom window out into the
courtyard, where he explodes in a brilliant flash.
The when all seemed okay, another soldier comes around the
corner with a modified 50 caliber gattling gun. This little
puppy fires off 40,000 rounds a minute, and makes one hell of
a racket. He begins tearing Mace and Sandra's place to little
bitty pieces parts with the gun. After a few moments he's
used up all his ammo and tries to reload, but the belt is
stuck. Todd comes back into view and fires off another
grenade, hitting an overhead propeller blade which comes
crashing down on the gunner. Neat.
Caine O.S.
Come in Unit 703. Unit 703, do you copy?
Todd grabs the mic off the dead soldier and in a moment of
sheer genius, actually makes being a mute bastard seem to be
the perfect thing. He simply growls into the mic like a
raving lunatic, or a hungry lion, Either way it's effect is
perfectly clear.
Cut to:
INT. Crawler.
With a look of puzzlement on Caine's face, he switches off the
mic.
Cut to:
INT. Ship.
Col. Mekum
A growl? He heard a growl?
Rubrick
Well he didn't say the word growl, he said a throat noise.
But I asked to imitate it, and it sounded like a... growl, to
me.
Col. Mekum
We're obviously up against a significant military presence
here.
Rubrick
Well, let's send in the rest of the men.
Col. Mekum
Absolutely not! Those bastards are just waiting for us in
there. No... we don't fall for an ambush.
Capt. Church
Colonel, my daddy always said, "when you want to insert a nail
into a piece of wood, you don't do anything fancy or
glamorous. You just take the damn hammer and hit the son of a
bitch until it's in"
Col. Mekum
What exactly does that crap mean in English, Captain?
Capt. Church
Withdraw your men. Load them up with heavy artillery and then
when night falls they go back in and pound that place with
mortars, rockets, and gas. Everything we got. From a safe
distance. It ain't fancy, but it will sure take care of your
hostile military force.
Col. Mekum
All right! Do it. Withdraw the men.
Cut to:
INT. Compound.
The villagers are policing up the bodies. Nathan hears
something curious and goes to investigate. We cut to Todd,
again playing with his toys. He's got more weaponry sitting
in a little pile than the entire country of Afghanistan has
seen in the last ten years. Sandra comes running. With Mace
out of the way now maybe Todd can get a little action. But
first things first.
Sandra
Nathan...
A beat.
Sandra
They killed him, didn't they?
Todd, having really grown in his use of verbal communication,
says nothing. Instead he gets some lampblack and starts
rubbing some really cool lines across his face and neck.
Sandra
How do you know they'll be back?
(In an obvious sign of the impending Apocalypse, Todd actually
says more than two words in any given sentence)
Todd
Because they're soldiers sir, like me.
Sandra
Why are they doing this?
Todd
They're obeying orders sir, it's their duty.
Sandra
Do you know how many there will be?
Todd
Seventeen more, sir.
Sandra
Oh my God you can't fight seventeen on your own. You have to
organize us. We're not cowards, we'll do as you tell us.
We'll fight (Where did that accent come from???)
Todd
No
Sandra
Why not?
Todd
Soldiers deserve soldiers, sir.
Sandra
But one soldier, against seventeen. What are you going to do?
Todd
I'm going to kill them all, sir.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound. Night.
In Todd's finest moment, we see him marching toward us, flames
erupting in the background, weighed down by what looks like
about two hundred pounds of gear. There is a certain look in
his eye that says "I just gave up getting some action with
that hot blond just to come out here and blow some people
away. Any man that don't want to die, better clear on out the
back!!"
Slade, like a little fairy, just stares at him in one part
awe, one part homoerotic lust.
Cut to:
EXT. Ship. Night.
Col. Mekum O.S.
Crawlers 1 and 2. Proceed to settlement, and commence
bombardment.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound. Night.
The crawlers are rolling forward towards the settlement,
apparently to commence bombardment. They don't get very far
when Todd shows up and starts firing on the crawler, cutting
down two soldiers with a nifty weapon that looks like an MP-5
or a maybe a SAW with a dual spherical clip. Very cool.
Cut to:
INT. Crawler
Lars
Crawler 1, we are red, we are red!
Cut to:
INT. Crawler
Caine
Crawler 2 to Crawler 1, report.
Lars
Crawler 2, we are 2 down. Responding to sniper activity.
Cut to:
INT. Ship.
Rubrick
Crawlers 1 and 2, split up. Crawler 1, locate and neutralize
the sniper. Caine 607, proceed to the settlement and commence
bombardment.
Caine
Rodger 1, we are proceeding to target.
Lars
Crawler 1, we are deploying ground forces.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound. Night.
We follow a soldier who is searching the area. He comes to a
ledge and peers over. Todd pops up and grabs the man and
hurls him over the side, right into a snake pit! He's
immediately set upon by several vicious snakes, and we hear
screaming.
Cut to:
We follow another soldier who is wading through the water. A
flare goes up and he turns to look at it, when he turns around
again he gets a knife right in the eye by Todd.
Cut to:
Two more soldiers come to where the first soldier just bought
it. They strafe the water with napalm, but nothing happens.
Cut to:
Scene of soldier walking around jumping at shadows.
Voice O.S.
All units, report...
Soldier
438, negative.
Soldier
515, negative
Soldier
523, negative...
Just then Todd bursts through the surface of the water and
returns fire on 523 with the mini Gattling gun, cutting him and
his partner into little bite sized pieces. Negative, huh...
you were saying...
Cut to:
An impossible number of foot soldiers race over to the sound
of the gattling gun, to provide cover fire. Dead bodies need
a lot of cover fire you know. As they approach two more
soldiers are gunned down.
Voice O.S.
Sniper at 12 o'clock!
Voice. O.S.
Sniper located!
The soldiers rush over to the sound of gunfire, in attempt to
neutralize the sniper. They manage to succeed in getting two
more of their team killed, so it's probably not going exactly
as they hoped. They even have some dope on the crawler firing
the browning 50 caliber overhead but it's not doing a lot of
good. The sniper keeps laying it on thick. Eventually the
soldiers make their way up to the little bunker, and look
inside. It's one of their own men! He's propped up by ropes
and holding two machine guns and by this time he's empty and
only dry firing. And oddly enough there are two little strings
attached to the triggers. Hmmm, something seems to be awry.
I wonder what it could be. Let me stand here a few moments
totally exposed to the enemy gunfire and try to make sense of
all this. Ooooh, I got it!
Soldier
Ambush!
Todd is off in the distance, and the ends of the string
naturally lead to him. Before the other soldiers can retreat,
Todd takes out a remote detonator and blows the deserving
idiots into smithereens.
The sound of the wind begins to pick up, and Todd straps
himself onto a heavy stand pipe, so as not to blow away. The
soldiers of course don't know what's about to happen, so they
too stand there totally exposed to possible sniper fire and
try to make heads and tails out of the latest goings-on.
Too late, the windstorm comes up fast and furious and carries
them all off. Those who aren't killed outright by flying
debris are simply blown away.
Cut to:
INT. Ship.
Rubrick
I think that we have to assume that the missing men are down.
Capt. Church
(To Col. Mekum)
Well maybe you should have made them smart instead of fast.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound.
Voice O.S.
Squad 1, do you copy?
Squad 2, do you copy?
Squad 3, do you copy?
Caine O.S.
607 to command, 1.5 clicks from settlement. Will engage enemy
in approximately two minutes.
Rubrick O.S.
Rodger, 607.
Lars O.S.
Crawler 1 to command, we have lost radio contact with all
ground units. We are still searching for the sniper.
Cut to:
Crawler P.O.V.
The crawler lumbers through the bucolic little valley,
searching for the enemy sniper. In a flash, Todd descends
down on the crawler, blowing away the turret man, and then
finishing off the two others on top with short blasts from a
mini-Uzi.
Cut to:
INT. Crawler.
Lars is thoroughly pissed at this point, so he's going topside
to see whassa matter. He's got his own mini-Uzi to dish out
some hot lead. He goes to climb the ladder to the port hatch
but Todd beats him to the door, and throws it open wide. In a
second he drops in three grenades and then slams the door
shut. All we see of Lars is a pathetic little look cross his
face as the thought that maybe he's screwed comes into mind.
In an instant the thought is rendered moot, as the grenades
detonate and he, along with most of the crawler's innards, are
sprayed with fire and shrapnel. Bye Lars.
Todd jumps off the exploding crawler and lands face first in
the sand with a groan. Aww shut up ya pansy, at least you're
not Lars. The crawler comes to a grinding halt.
Cut to:
INT. Compound.
Caine has arrived at the refugee camp and has proceeded with
bombardment. Explosions ring out left and right. The foot
soldiers get into it too, and rattle off grenades and machine
gun fire all over the place. If you thought the camp was in
bad shape before, well now it's a mess.
Cut to:
INT. Crawler.
Caine
Crawler 2 to Crawler 1, come in 1
Voice O.S.
One
Caine
Two to One, Keep your port at 9 o'clock and commence firing
Voice O.S.
Affirmative 2, report to 9 and commence firing
Caine
Crawler 2 to Crawler 1, again, proceed to port 9
Voice O.S.
Affirmative, proceed to port 9
Caine
Two to One... you're still on 12 o'clock, correct 9
Voice O.S.
Affirmative 2
Caine
Crawler 1, you're on a collision course with me!
Cut to:
INT. Crawler
We see the Voice. O.S. is Todd
Todd
Affirmative
We see Todd in Crawler 1 advancing on Crawler 2, and getting
ready to pound it from the side. The foot soldiers try and
repel it with machine gun fire, but it's useless. Todd
crashes through some vehicles and in an instant smacks Crawler
2 hard, sending it sprawling over the edge of a shallow
embankment, badly out of commission.
Rubrick O.S.
Crawler 1, do you copy?
Crawler 2, do you copy?
Are any of you men out there?
Can any of you men hear me??
Todd can, he flips the comm on button and speaks:
Todd
Your men, are obsolete!
Cut to:
INT. Ship
Col. Mekum
Try on 1!
Rubrick
No, I already tried number one. I can't get any either one of
them.
Capt. Church
This is bad, real bad! We don't know what we're up against...
how many?
Sloan
We couldn't even get figures on enemy troops.
Rubrick
We couldn't even get any estimates.
Col. Mekum
We're sitting ducks here, I mean there could be a couple of
divisions out there, or more!
Sloan
We don't even have the weapons to arm the old soldiers!
Col. Mekum
Is that a recrimination Lieutenant? Because if that is a
recrimination I will have you court marshaled!
Sloan
No sir, not at all
Capt. Church
Don't Panic, don't panic!
Col. Mekum
I am NOT panicking!
(He's clearly panicking)
Cut to:
EXT. Rainfall
Caine is laying on the ground, badly hurt. He crawls over to
a dead soldier and grabs a medic kit. He gets a syringe out
and jabs himself in the arm with what could be adrenaline. He
then pops open a vial and guzzles down about a dozen pills,
that are only god-knows-what. He sits up and starts flipping
out, high on whatever it is he just took.
Cut to:
INT. Ship
Col. Mekum
Captain.
Capt. Church
Sir?
Col. Mekum
You must have some of those new DX-57's on board?
Capt. Church
Planet Killers you mean. We carry fifteen.
Col. Mekum
One is enough. We set it on a short fuse, and we get out of
here. BOOM, we win.
Cut to:
EXT. Compound
Caine is marching around, tossing crap out of his way, hitting
things. Looking generally agitated.
Cut to:
INT. Compound
Sandra
Praying means, that even when you're scared, you control your
emotions. Make your fear be really small and tiny.
We hear a sound of footfalls somewhere close by.
A Child
Oh-no!
Sandra
Shhhhh!
Sandra goes out to check the noise. She pokes her head out of
the opening and someone GRABS HER!
It's just Todd.
Todd
We should go sir.
Cut to:
INT. Ship.
A few men come out of the ship carrying what we must assume is
a DX-57, "Planet Killer".
Cut to:
EXT. Compound.
Todd is carrying Nathan, and the others are following. We see
a figure in the darkness, and it's a safe bet it's not Rod
Serling.
Todd
Take him. Go back.
Sandra
Go back, Go back!
It's Caine 607, and boy does he look pissed. The others flee,
and Todd walks up to Caine, squaring off next to a ledge
overlooking the compound. Sandra and the children flee up a
narrow foot path circling the compound, and she glances back
once. Caine looks up at them , and then back at Todd.
Todd shakes his head darkly, as if to say, "No more fun for
you today, you're toast!"
Caine rushes Todd with a knife, who picks up a grill and
blocks it, only to be hit by a forceful right hook that sends
him reeling. Caine swings back around with a backfist, but
Todd blocks it deftly. Then another left hook from Caine
knocks Todd back again. He gives Todd a good roundhouse kick
to the kidney and nearly sends him off the cliff, but Todd
recovers nicely and evades Caine as he approaches. Todd
delivers an elbow to the back of his head, but Caine returns
with a driving kick to Todd's face. And then another to the
groin which Todd blocks, and another to the head which he does
not. Todd is lightly stunned and falls back.
Caine grabs Todd by the hair and forces his head into a pole.
Quickly taking advantage, Caine picks Todd up and throws him
into a wall, where he follows up with a powerful drop kick
that again sends him sprawling back into the wall. A neon
sign is busted loose from the wall and falls, hitting Caine
right in the head, stunning him. Then another falls and
narrowly misses Todd as he jumps clear. Using the momentum,
Todd barrels into Caine and they both go to the ground.
Getting back up, Caine is staggering, but Todd is good to go.
He comes in swinging with a fast right hook, which Caine
avoids. Then a backfist, which Caine grabs and in return
smacks Todd with a jab. Todd grabs for Caine, and Caine
blocks the grab with a counter grab. Todd seizes the open
right with an open palm to Caine's nose, and then follows it
with a left palm-heel, again to his face. Caine is stunned,
but manages to come back with a duck and an elbow to the back
of Todd's head, sending him flying.
Once again Caine seizes the initiative and throws Todd face
first through a window, badly stunning him. Then a Right,
left, right, left, right... and Todd goes down hard. When he
gets back up it's clear that this could be the end for him.
He's staggering and severely stunned. Todd spies a scythe
laying on the ground, and Caine follows his gaze to it. He
scoops it up and stands, meaning to slice Todd with it. But
Todd, the veteran, is a quick thinker, and grabs an
overhanging helicopter blade and swings it down on Caine,
badly lacerating his abdomen, and he drops the scythe.
The Todd gives Caine a right hook, and two quick shots to the
open wound, and finishes by snapping Caine's arm. He howls in
pain, and then a double hammer fist knocks him down,
senseless. Todd jumps on his back, and grabs him in the
patented hand over elbow sleeper grip. Takes a moment to
adjust for leverage, and then TWISTS! The vertebrae in
Caine's neck snap with a sickening sound and it's Good Night
Irene. Fight over
Todd stands, victorious.
Cut to:
EXT. Ship.
The old soldiers have finished setting up the DX-57. It's
timer counts down the minutes. Off in the distance Riley
hears something and sees a kid run off. He follows her and
finds the rest of the refugees... and... Sgt. Todd. It only
takes a moment for Riley to realize what he is seeing, and
immediately he salutes his commanding officer. The other old
soldiers do likewise. Todd returns the salute.
Cut to:
INT. Ship. Bridge.
Capt. Church
Right. Horizontal.
Rubrick
Rodger, Right, Horizontal, check screen.
Col. Mekum
What are we waiting for Captain, give us a go.
Capt. Church
We give Riley and his men seven more minutes.
Col. Mekum
Fuck 'em, let's just go.
Capt. Church
Abandon them? I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. I'm a
Captain and...
Col. Mekum
And I'm your superior officer It's my mission, my call, my
responsibility. And I say go!
Capt. Church
Losing men in combat is one thing, abandoning them...
Col. Mekum
I'm not going to die because of your pompous bullshit. This
is a direct order, do you understand? Take off, now!
Capt. Church
Oh ho ho... awww. Don't walk away from me you, snippy West
Point piece of ...
His words are cut off, as Colonel Mekum has drawn his silver
.45 and just popped a cap in the Captain. Church drops like a
sack of wet potatoes and lands right on the nicely polished
shoes of the Colonel, quite dead.
Col. Mekum
Take the helm, Lieutenant Sloan, with launch assisting. Come
on, on the double! Let's go. Close up the lower hatch. Close
up the power cluster Lieutenant.
Sloan
What was that?
Col. Mekum
What was what?
It's the sound of the old soldiers reboarding the ship, and
taking Col. Mekum out of command. They march up to the bridge
and grab his butt. As they're dragging him, Sloan, and
Rubrick out down the halls they are sporadically yelling
things like "What are you doing", "Stop it", "Get your hands
off of me!", "Listen to me!", "Fucking morons!".
We come to the end of the corridor and the door slides open,
and there stands SGT. Todd, looking none too happy.
Col. Mekum (shocked)
You!
Todd steps forward, eyeball to eyeball with this snippy West
Point piece of...
Col. Mekum (whining)
Please...
He pisses in his pants and this only serves to make him even
more pathetic.
Col. Mekum
please...?
Todd steps aside, and the old soldiers drag Mekum, Sloan, and
Rubrick kicking and fighting to the hatch doors, where the
toss them out on their keisters. The try and scramble back on
board but it's useless. Rubrick looks up and realizes they
are standing right underneath the giant jets that power the
ship, and they are heating up for takeoff.
Rubrick
We've got to get out of here! Colonel!
They run, and we;
Cut to:
EXT. Planet Surface.
The three run up to the DX-57, and see that's it's going into
it's final phase of detonation.
Rubrick
Oh my God it's getting ready to detonate, we've got to stop
it. Fourteen seconds! Hurry!
Sloan tries to punch in the code to stop the countdown:
Sloan
I can't remember if it's 6-7 or 7-6
Col. Mekum
Get out of the way!
Sloan
No don't touch it you don't know what you're doing!
The colonel punches in 7 then 6, then Enter.
Rubrick
Hurry, Hurry!
BOOM... they lose.
The entire planet is being engulfed in fireball as the ship
rockets off, just ahead of the blast wave, with Todd at
command and Riley next to him. They manage to escape the
force of the concussion and are safely on their way out of
there. We cut to a scene of the refugees tucked away in some
cargo bay, tending to their wounded. Jimmy Pig is there.
Sandra is there. Nathan is there. Mace is most decidedly not
there. Now is Todd's big chance to score with his new found
honey.
Nathan sets off to find his new dad, and we follow him up to
the bridge. Todd is scanning through the ships nav sys maps.
He touches a point and it comes up on the display.
Todd
There.
Riley
Aye aye sir, setting course for the Trinity Moons.
Nathan finally finds Todd, and gestures for Todd to pick him
up. Todd sort of reaches down and fumbles for the kid, then
realizes what he wants and picks him up. Riley is just like
WTF? Todd throws him a glance as if to say "not a word!". He
then turns and takes Nathan over to the window. Riley looks
over at another soldier, who is equally puzzled as to how Sgt.
Todd has been converted to such a pansy so quickly. Oh
well... with a nod they get back to work.
Todd points to something off in the distance, and yet with all
his superhuman strength and amazing ability he still can't
conjure up a few simple words to enlighten us, the audience,
as to what the hell he's looking at. No matter, we pull in
closer and see the reflection on the glass, showing some
swirling, beautiful galaxy, full of promise and potential.
The mutes watch this for a few moments and we;
Fade to Black
Roll Credits.